Girl left out of high school yearbook after wearing tuxedo to photo shoot

High school graduate Holley Gerelds is shown in her senior photo at Springville High School in Alabama.

Holley Gerelds/Twitter

An Alabama high school graduate turned up for her end-of-year photo session, but she was shocked when her Springville High yearbook came back this month without her photo included.

Holley Gerelds chose to wear a tuxedo that day, as opposed to the traditional black drape female students typically wear.

But when yearbooks were delivered last week, she found out her head shot — which she paid US$25 for — was replaced by a black box and the words “Not Pictured: Holley Geralds.” They’d even misspelled her name.

She shared a photo of it on Twitter, writing: “I took my senior portraits wearing a tux instead of a drape. Guess who wasn’t pictured lol.”

The 18-year-old also tagged @happyhippiefdn, an organization that helps rally young people in the face of homelessness and inequality.

She further responded to her own tweet, writing: “I would like to add that I’m not trying to get anyone in trouble or sent hate. I’m just upset that I didn’t get put into MY senior yearbook because I’m a lesbian who wanted to wear a tux instead of a drape. I paid for my pictures just like everyone else.”

i would like to add that i’m not trying to get anyone in trouble or sent hate. i’m just upset that i didn’t get put into MY senior yearbook because i’m a lesbian who wanted to wear a tux instead of a drape. i paid for my pictures just like everyone else.

“I understand that the senior portraits taken at Springville High School during the last school year were taken in accordance with long-standing school guidelines. We are in the process of reevaluating those guidelines to consider what changes, if any, need to be made,” he wrote.

He continued: “I can confirm that the composite photograph of the Springville High School Class of 2019 will include all students that participated in the senior portrait process, regardless of their choice of attire. In addition, we are reprinting a page of Springville High School’s recent yearbook to correct the misspelling of a student’s name and to include all students, regardless of their choice of attire.”